Josh Donaldson

AL Notes: Dozier, Donaldson, Doubront, Fasola

By Jeff Todd | April 19, 2017 at 11:08pm CDT

ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick has an interesting profile of Twins star second baseman Brian Dozier. The Mississippi native has proven adept at picking up a variety of games and activities. Last year, it seems, he took an interest in hitting lots of home runs. Now that he has established the ability to play at such a high level in the majors, says Dozier, “everything seems different now.” He goes on to explain: “I’ve found the longer you’re in the game, the slower it becomes. The learning curves are there each and every year, but you become wiser and you realize what you have to do in order to succeed.”

Here’s more from the American League:

If the Blue Jays can’t rebound, they’ll have no choice but to explore a trade of star third baseman Josh Donaldson, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star argues. Toronto is in a tough spot because of the talent gap between the current MLB roster and the clubs best prospects, many of whom aren’t really that close to contributing in the majors. If this Jays outfit isn’t able to turn around an abysmal start, says Griffin, dealing Donaldson might be the only chance the organization has to add quality, near-MLB talent. Regardless, the team must hope that Donaldson is able to get past his current calf issues as soon as possible.
Lefty Felix Doubront is still rehabbing for the Athletics, but there are already plans to make a change when he returns. Doubront will return in a relief role, GM David Forst told reporters including MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter). The 29-year-old has mostly functioned as a starter in the bigs, though he does have experience working from the pen as well. Doubront could return from his Tommy John surgery by June, per the report.
Rangers righty John Fasola underwent Tommy John surgery today, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Fasola, 25, isn’t exactly a hyped prospect. But he did win the club’s award as the top reliever on the farm last year after throwing 51 innings of 3.18 ERA ball with 10.2 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. Fasola went on to have a solid Arizona Fall League run and might soon have been a factor in the major league mix were it not for the injury.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Blue Jays, Donaldson, Braun, Orioles

By Mark Polishuk | April 18, 2017 at 10:34am CDT

FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal shares some news from around baseball in his latest notes column…

Josh Donaldson is expected to spend 2-4 weeks on the DL recovering from a calf injury. Though the Blue Jays are in dire need of Donaldson’s bat, I would suspect the team would err on the side of caution and keep Donaldson out of action until he has completely healed, given that the third baseman has been bothered by this injury dating back to Spring Training.
With the Blue Jays off to a 2-10 start, Rosenthal figures the team will likely be dealing veterans at the July trade deadline but “a major deconstruction would be a tough sell” to fans. A complete rebuild would erase most or all of the gains made in ticket sales and TV ratings during the last two years, when the Jays twice reached the postseason. Rosenthal believes the Jays could use “a strategic re-set” and still aim to contend in 2018. If Toronto does sell at the deadline, they could limit themselves to trading players who will be free agents after 2017 (such as Marco Estrada, Jose Bautista or Francisco Liriano). The tougher calls, of course, would be on deciding to trade Donaldson or J.A. Happ, who are under contract through the 2018 season.
Ryan Braun will gain 10-and-5 rights on May 14, according to Rosenthal, not on May 24 as previous reports have suggested. No matter the date that the Brewers slugger can gain full no-trade control, however, Rosenthal echoes earlier reports that suggest little will change with Braun’s trade status once he becomes a 10-and-5 player.
The Orioles’ lack of international spending is “an ownership decision,” Rosenthal hears from Baltimore executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette. Ben Badler pulled no punches in criticizing the Orioles’ meager spending on international amateur free agents in a piece for Baseball America earlier this week, and Rosenthal adds that the O’s have also spent the least of any team on amateur draft signings over the last three years. While Duquette notes that several homegrown prospects are currently on Baltimore’s MLB roster, Rosenthal points out that with so many big names (i.e. Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Zach Britton) slated for free agency after 2018, the O’s are lacking in young depth to fill what could be several significant roster holes.
Two sources tell Rosenthal that Duquette wasn’t happy with how the Orioles’ medical staff handled Chris Tillman’s shoulder injury. Duquette didn’t specifically comment on this report to Rosenthal, only saying that “We probably could have done a better job getting him back….I’m not sure we rushed him. I’m just disappointed he didn’t start the season with us. We had plenty of time to work with him. The shoulder was bothering him at the end of last year.” Tillman and the O’s are targeting a return date of early May for the right-hander to make his season debut.

AL Notes: Blue Jays, Yankees, A’s, Red Sox

By Connor Byrne | April 16, 2017 at 12:19pm CDT

With Toronto off to a 2-9 start, executives from rival teams are already wondering which players the Blue Jays might shop in the coming months if they don’t turn their season around, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Olney lists several possibilities, the most prominent being onetime MVP-winning third baseman Josh Donaldson, who’s currently on the disabled list with a calf injury. Three members of the Jays’ rotation – J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano – as well as right fielder Jose Bautista and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki are also candidates to end up on the move, per Olney.

Blue Jays Select Chris Coghlan, Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day DL, Designate Juan Graterol

By Jeff Todd | April 14, 2017 at 5:51pm CDT

5:51pm: Catcher Juan Graterol has been designated to clear 40-man space, the club announced. Graterol was claimed just before camp and seemed slated to function as the third catcher. But the Jays recently added Luke Maile through a waiver claim, and he evidently stepped into the top spot on the minor-league depth chart.

3:00pm: The Blue Jays have selected the contract of veteran outfielder/infielder Chris Coghlan, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca first reported on Twitter. Coghlan would have been eligible to opt out of his deal at the end of the month, Davidi notes.

Unfortunately, the move was necessitated by the calf injury that felled star third baseman Josh Donaldson. He’s heading to the 10-day DL, though it seems the organization hopes that he won’t require an extended stint. Toronto will also need to clear a 40-man spot.

The Jays will hope that Coghlan can provide a boost against right-handed pitching, as he has done for much of his career. He became available when the Phillies cut him loose late in camp, after Coghlan reportedly declined to sign an advance consent waiver that would’ve allowed the Phils to avoid a full-season guarantee by trimming him from the roster within 45 days of the start of the season.

Instead, Coghlan headed to the open market and landed in Toronto on a new minors deal. The 31-year-old will look to pick up where he left off last year with the Cubs. He slashed .252/.491/.388 in 128 plate appearances with Chicago after struggling earlier in the season for the A’s.

Coghlan is best utilized as a platoon player, as his lifetime OPS splits (.766 vs. righties, .618 vs. lefties) would suggest. He does offer some defensive versatility, though, having lined up at second and third as well as his natural corner outfield in recent years.

AL East Notes: Donaldson, Betances, Orioles

By Steve Adams | April 13, 2017 at 11:07pm CDT

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson exited Thursday’s contest with what appears to be an aggravation of the calf injury that has plagued him on and off since early in Spring Training, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm writes. Donaldson doubled into the right field corner but came up lame after rounding first base and ultimately hobbled into second base. There’s no word on the extent of the injury just yet, but Donaldson began to walk off the field almost immediately after play had halted, and Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that a trip to the disabled list is a possibility. The 2015 American League MVP missed a significant portion of Spring Training and had a brief flare-up of the injury this past weekend.

Elsewhere in the AL East…

Prior to the arbitration hearing that led to a controversial string of comments from Yankees president Randy Levine, right-hander Dellin Betances was offered a two-year deal that would have guaranteed him between $8MM and $8.5MM, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in his latest AL Notes column. However, with Betances’ camp seeking as much as $5MM in arbitration, they elected to go on with the trial. Rejecting the deal seems reasonable, from my vantage point, as even after losing the trial Betances took home a $3MM figure for the 2017 season. Betances figures to earn more than $4MM next year in arbitration, so the downside in aiming high with the arbitration hearing was relatively minimal.
Baseball America’s Ben Badler penned a harsh critique of the Orioles’ paltry investments in international free agency, noting that the O’s spent just $260K on international talent this period and signed only five players. As Badler notes, it’s nothing new, as Baltimore has routinely eschewed significant investments on the international market — much to the detriment of the farm system. Badler points out that even the cash-strapped division-rival Rays spent more than $3MM on 36 international amateurs in 2016 despite being in the metaphorical penalty box for shattering their pool in a previous signing period (thus preventing them from spending more than $300K on a single player). “[O]wnership’s antiquated approach toward Latin America prevents the Orioles’ international scouts from having the resources they need to do their jobs,” Badler writes. Indeed, Baltimore’s total spending is a pittance relative to the rest of the league; on the opposite end of the spectrum, the Padres spent nearly $80MM on international amateurs during the current signing period alone. Notably, the O’s traded their top international bonus slot to the Brewers tonight to acquire recently designated reliever Damien Magnifico.
The Orioles will turn to Alec Asher to start versus Toronto on Saturday, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. His selection to face a heavily right-handed lineup suggests that Baltimore plans to utilize its upper-level pitching depth on a case-by-case basis to fill Chris Tillman’s spot in the rotation while Tillman is out, Encina adds. Manager Buck Showalter elaborated on that concept a bit, telling Encina: “We know that has potential to be a moving piece until Chris gets back. We can play a little matchup there until we know for sure when we’re going to get Chris back. … The good news is we have some guys to pick from, not only there, but potentially in Bowie, too.” The Orioles added Asher in a minor Spring Training trade and also picked up several other potential options, including Gabriel Ynoa (in a trade with the Mets) and Richard Bleier (in a trade with the Yankees). Lefty Jayson Aquino was also a consideration for this weekend’s start, Encina notes, but the glut of righties he’d have faced led the team to turn to Asher instead. Tillman figures to be out until early May, so there should be quite a few more spot starts up for grabs among this group.

Injury Notes: Mets, Jays, Red Sox, Nats, Padres

By Connor Byrne | April 9, 2017 at 5:20pm CDT

Mets left-hander Steven Matz announced Monday that he has a flexor strain, but members of the organization are skeptical of the diagnosis, reports Bob Klapisch of NorthJersey.com. The Mets’ two orthopedists “found nothing wrong” with Matz, a source told Klapisch, who writes that the team doesn’t believe the 25-year-old is faking the injury. They are under the impression, though, that Matz received another opinion from outside the organization – which he’s allowed to do – thus leading to the flexor strain diagnosis. Regardless, New York’s hope is that Matz will be healthy enough to make his season debut in May.

More injury updates:

The right calf tightness that forced Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson to exit Sunday’s loss to the Rays early doesn’t appear to be a serious issue. After the game, Donaldson told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, that it’s “realistic” to think he’ll play in the Jays’ home opener Tuesday (Twitter link). That’s certainly a relief for Toronto, which went without Donaldson because of a calf strain for most of spring training and has started the regular season 1-5.
An MRI on Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. revealed a sprained right knee, according to manager John Farrell (Twitter link via Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal). The team will send Bradley back to Boston for further evaluation, meaning he’ll sit out Monday’s game in Detroit after missing Sunday’s contest. Bradley noted, however, that he’s able to move his knee without experiencing any pain, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
Nationals shortstop Trea Turner left Saturday’s loss to the Phillies with hamstring trouble, but manager Dusty Baker indicated afterward that the speedster wouldn’t miss much time. Baker wasn’t as confident when discussing Turner’s status Sunday, describing his hamstring as “so-so,” per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). The Nats will reevaluate Turner on Monday.
The Padres have placed right-hander Trevor Cahill on the disabled list, retroactive to April 6, with a lower back strain and recalled Zach Lee from Triple-A El Paso. Either Lee or Jarred Cosart could start in place of Cahill against the Rockies on Monday, as Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource points out (Twitter link). In his first start of the year, a 3-1 loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday, Cahill allowed two earned runs on five hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings, also notching seven strikeouts.

AL Notes: Donaldson, Y. Ventura, Royals, Tigers, Athletics

By Mark Polishuk and Connor Byrne | April 9, 2017 at 2:35pm CDT

Third baseman Josh Donaldson left the Blue Jays’ game against the Rays on Sunday with right calf tightness, per an announcement from Toronto. Donaldson previously sat out most of spring training with a calf strain, so it’s possible this ailment will force him to the disabled list. The 2015 AL MVP and three-time All-Star has been eminently durable since his first full season, 2013, having played at least 155 games in each of the past four years. Donaldson’s once again performing at an elite level early this year (.348/.444/.652 in 27 plate appearances), but the 1-4 Jays have scuffled in spite of that.

Here’s more from the AL…

Yordano Ventura’s life and untimely death will always be on the minds of his teammates, and the Royals’ mourning process has, in a way, begun anew as the team starts the season without Ventura around every day, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star writes. Infielder Cheslor Cuthbert had made a routine of goofing around with Ventura during rides on the team plane, though when the Royals flew out of Spring Training last week, “when I looked, I didn’t see him,” Cuthbert said. “That’s when I realized: ‘He’s not here anymore. It’s hard to accept that.’ ” Dodd’s piece contains many memories and stories about Ventura from his many friends on the team and is well worth a full read.
The Tigers put a big focus on pitching in the 2013 amateur draft, taking college pitchers with their first seven picks and selecting arms with 27 of 41 overall picks. Almost four years later, however, MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery notes that Detroit has gotten little return from the hurlers in that draft class. Of those initial seven pitchers, only Buck Farmer and righty Jeff Thompson are still in the organization, as the other five have been traded, released, or have retired (second-rounder Kevin Ziomek). Farmer, Brewers reliever Corey Knebel, and current Yankees Joe Mantiply and Chad Green are the only Tigers picks from that entire 41-person class who have seen any big league playing time.
One week into the season, the Athletics have already made a change in their rotation. Right-hander Jesse Hahn will replace righty Raul Alcantara, who will head to the bullpen, reports Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area (video link). Alcantara started for the A’s on Friday and, in two innings, allowed eight earned runs on four hits and two walks in a loss to the Rangers. Hahn relieved Alcantara in that game and fired six innings of seven-hit, two-run ball. His placement in the rotation might not last long, with Sonny Gray potentially in line to return from from a lat strain by the end of the month.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Betts, Leon, Donaldson, Boxberger, Beckham

By Jeff Todd | March 23, 2017 at 11:10am CDT

In an interesting look inside the Red Sox front office, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports on the team’s analytical upgrade efforts. While the organization has long been associated with number-crunching and information hoarding, it has only recently ramped up its full-time staff to launch a new database effort and keep pace with other clubs. It’s an interesting look at the process behind and purposes of the team’s next steps in analytics.

Here’s more from Boston and the rest of the AL East:

In a look at Red Sox star Mookie Betts, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe delves into the role of off-field earning opportunities in determining the contractual path of Betts and other young stars. “[Getting endorsements] kind of eliminates things I’ve wondered as far as contracts go and the business part of the game,” says Betts. “[But] everything I can ever desire is going to start from me taking care of business on the field.” Whether that precludes a long-term deal — or, at least, drives up the potential price — remains to be seen.
Sandy Leon seems on track to open the season with the lion’s share of the time behind the dish for the Red Sox, skipper John Farrell told reporters including Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). But the manager made clear that he doesn’t intend to rely too heavily on any one man at the catching position, suggesting it’ll be a fairly evenly shared platoon situation between Leon and Christian Vasquez — at least to start the season.
Star Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson took the field in Grapefruit League action for the first time yesterday, as MLB.com’s Paul Hagen writes. All indications were that his calf issue didn’t hold him back, so it seems that Toronto can still look forward to Donaldson’s presence on the Opening Day roster.
Rays righty Brad Boxberger isn’t going to be ready for Opening Day, but does hope to be contributing in the majors during the month of April, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. His lat issue will still require at least a week-long layoff before he beings a new throwing program.
The career of former top Rays prospect Tim Beckham has continued its roller-coaster path, Topkin writes. After a rough end to 2016, Beckham now seems ascendant yet again, with a strong showing in spring and unexpected opportunity at shortstop with Matt Duffy still on ice. Beckham is drawing rave reviews from manager Kevin Cash and veteran players for his commitment and performance, perhaps suggesting there’s still some hope the 27-year-old can turn the corner at the game’s highest level.

AL East Notes: Thornburg, Donaldson, Travis, Boxberger

By charliewilmoth | March 20, 2017 at 9:29am CDT

Reliever Tyler Thornburg tops the Red Sox’ list of concerns as the 2017 season approaches, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Thornburg has dealt with dead arm for most of Spring Training so far. The Red Sox gave up a fairly hefty package of talent that included infielder Travis Shaw and prospect Mauricio Dubon to get Thornburg, but so far Thornburg’s Red Sox tenure is off to a rough start — he misinterpreted the Red Sox’ prescribed offseason training regimen, according to Cafardo, and now will probably have to start the season on the disabled list. The Red Sox might end up missing longtime late-inning reliever Koji Uehara, who they allowed to depart for the Cubs. Cafardo notes that Thornburg could join a list of Red Sox relief trade acquisitions who disappointed due to injury, including Carson Smith, Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey — although, of course, Hanrahan and Bailey weren’t acquired under the Red Sox’ current front office, and it’s way, way too early to write Thornburg off. Thornburg pitched an apparently successful bullpen session on Saturday. Here’s more from the AL East.

Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldson makes his Spring Training debut today playing DH against Minnesota, John Lott of the Athletic tweets. Donaldson suffered a calf injury near the start of Spring Training and has been out the past month. Donaldson’s return isn’t the only bit of good news for the Jays. Second baseman Devon Travis, who has missed time after having offseason knee surgery, also appears to be returning to health — Lott tweets that Travis expects to make his official spring debut later this week.
One player whose injury prognosis isn’t so sunny is Rays reliever Brad Boxberger, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes (all Twitter links). Manager Kevin Cash says Boxberger’s lat injury isn’t improving as quickly as the team had anticipated, and that he’s unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Boxberger struggled with an oblique injury during a poor 2016 season in which he posted a 4.81 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 7.0 BB/9 in just 24 1/3 innings. His absence could create an opportunity for recent waiver claim Jumbo Diaz, who’s about to return to the Rays after pitching in the World Baseball Classic, according to Topkin.

Injury Notes: Indians, Orioles, Jays, Cards, Rockies

By Connor Byrne | March 12, 2017 at 2:22pm CDT

The sore right shoulder that has bothered Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis this spring will likely keep him out to begin the regular season, manager Terry Francona revealed Sunday (via Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer). Kipnis made his Cactus League debut as a designated hitter Thursday, before which he told Hoynes that throwing the ball – not swinging the bat – has caused him pain. However, on the heels of the Indians playing Kipnis in back-to-back games as a DH (the second of which took place Friday), they’ll shut him down for two weeks. While “nothing has gone haywire” in Kipnis’ recovery, according to Francona, the team is being careful because “it’s such a long season.”

More injury updates:

As is the case with Kipnis, the latest news on Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman’s shoulder isn’t ideal. The O’s shut Tillman down after he made approximately 10 throws during a long toss session on Sunday, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The next update on Tillman will come Monday, notes Kubatko, who reported Saturday that he’s likely to open the season on the disabled list. Baltimore won’t need a fifth starter until April 15, though, and it’s possible Tillman will be ready to go by then. If not, it would make for an inauspicious start to the final year of his contract.
With Opening Day nearing, Blue Jays superstar third baseman Josh Donaldson is beginning to ramp up activities as he works his way back from the strained right calf he suffered three weeks ago, writes Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. “I’m probably at 40 percent or 50 percent running right now,” said Donaldson. “And obviously, it’s got to get to the point where I can run 100 percent. I feel like, hopefully, that should be sometime next week, the way that it’s progressing now.”
It appears the right lat muscle soreness Cardinals righty Trevor Rosenthal has been battling will kill his chances of winning a place in the team’s rotation. Moreover, it could stop the ex-closer from beginning the year as a multi-inning fireman, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Rosenthal – now, saying could he get the innings he needs to contribute as a starter or a multiple-inning relief appearance? “I think that is still in question,” said manager Mike Matheny. “It’s very important that at some point this week he gets into a game and we can get that pitch count up.” Regardless of whether Rosenthal is well enough by April to toss multiple innings in an appearance, someone figures to serve as that type of weapon for the Cardinals. General manager John Mozeliak called it “very appealing” to Matheny, and Goold adds that John Gant, Matthew Bowman, Miguel Socolovich, Tyler Lyons and Sam Tuivailala are possibilities to fill that role.
Rockies reliever Chad Qualls has been on the shelf since suffering an elbow injury March 1, and his return isn’t imminent, skipper Bud Black told Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Qualls is still feeling “elbow discomfort,” leading the Rockies to take a cautious approach with the 38-year-old. Even though Qualls is due a $3.25MM salary this season, his roster spot was in jeopardy before the injury and that remains the case, according to Groke. Despite having induced grounders at a 55 percent clip and limiting walks (2.48 per nine), Qualls pitched to an ugly ERA (5.23) over 32 2/3 frames last season.

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